Sleek

Sleek #16 Autumn 2007 Pure|Dirty

Perhaps in an unambiguous, pure world it would be easy to assign value to this issue’s thematic dichotomy. But in these convoluted times, in fashion, celebrity, media, even art, »purity« is a suspect, boring and »dirtiness« a hot and edgy. But in terms of today’s trendiest issue, the environment (wars, terrorism, AIDS etc. have become a bit passé), the values are comfortingly clear-cut again. Who, for god’s sake, could ever argue that pure, clean air and water are anything but good – except maybe for plankton and such who like a bit of »schmutz«. And speaking of god, what about fundamentalists of every ilk who, in the name of the »purity«, justify just about anything?
Stating sleek’s themes as opposites gives our staff and contributors complex and relevant territory to explore – and lots of headaches. But with our 16th thematic voyage, we’ve hit paydirt (the »pay« in the dirt was pure gold). The realities of quarterly publication mean that we must choose our themes well in advance. While hopefully always relevant, it’s more difficult to be topical. however with this theme, we find in the last hours leading to press, both our topic and our contributors are in the headlines daily. So, while we’re busy patting ourselves on our backs for our prescience, we hope you’ll get on with the business of making the world a better, cleaner place safe in the knowledge that it’s the fashionable thing to do.